I know they did. I promise I know they did. We're absolutely on the same side here. The whole thing makes my blood boil too.

I wrote letters to my MP demanding how the RFU could dare to try and victimise Adie Spencer for playing rugby union in the Varsity match simply because he had played rugby league (as an amateur) for London? I did the same when Steve Pilgrim was banned from rugby union for having been "outed" as a Leeds rugby league triallist. My MP, Sir Patrick Mayhew - who some might remember as a Tory of the old school - wrote back and agreed with every one of my objections and added that his son was playing rugby league abroad while serving in the Armed Forces!

We agree it was disgraceful but.... still nobody can tell me how rugby league and its representatives allowed another sport - for nearly 100 years! - to decree that a teacher coaching young schoolchildren to play rugby league (and only rugby league) was deemed to have "professionalized" themselves. The whole concept is so bizarre and perverse and manifestly unfair and meaningless...

Maintaining the self-interested status quo is not that difficult a thing to do. RL's lack of resources to tackle these issues was a major stumbling block to recognition for the sport and has defined rugby league people, its clubs, its players and its fans since day one.

All I can say is that since 2008 there are more schools playing competitively in Derbyshire than there have ever been. It's going to be tough after the cuts but we hope, as a club, to keep the flag flying in the schools with or without a CRLC in place.

Surely this 'wastage' of which you speak, which I assume means lads who sign on for scholarship or academy programmes at pro clubs but then do not make the grade, is not really wastage at all. Maybe only three of a whole academy team make the grade, but the others have received the highest calibre of coaching and can on to play at whatever level suits them. Granted, some will drop out through disappointment at not having made the highest level, but deciding that it's not worth the expense is a dangerous path to go down.

If all Championship clubs had to enter U20 sides this year then the likes of Nottingham, Northampton and Bristol would have been forced out of the game due to lack of a league aside from clubs killed off by players being taken to fill the U20. Is that the best way?

If all Championship clubs had to enter U20 sides this year then the likes of Nottingham, Northampton and Bristol would have been forced out of the game due to lack of a league aside from clubs killed off by players being taken to fill the U20. Is that the best way?

No, you right, I think we've done that argument already Bowes. Player development has to be about striking the right balance between cost and results and I just wonder if we've got it right. SL clubs running just an u19 team below first team (apart from the odd, truncated u16 scholarship season) seems very little investment in development. Championship clubs seem to be mostly doing nothing at all. So they leave it to all to community clubs? That'd be ok if we could be sure that resources were being correctly managed there with the best coaches offering the best development.

Surely this 'wastage' of which you speak, which I assume means lads who sign on for scholarship or academy programmes at pro clubs but then do not make the grade, is not really wastage at all. Maybe only three of a whole academy team make the grade, but the others have received the highest calibre of coaching and can on to play at whatever level suits them. Granted, some will drop out through disappointment at not having made the highest level, but deciding that it's not worth the expense is a dangerous path to go down.

Excuse me sir, but I think you'll find you're in the wrong discussion.

"There are now more Trident submarines based in Scotland than there are MPs to vote for them."

That's depressing too. Cheer me up and tell me things in the state schools in and around Leeds have changed for the better...

indeed most schools in leeds do play rugby league as both leeds and hunslet put a tremendus amount of time and effort going into schools coaching and giving lifestyle advise . even leeds grammar school noe play league and nobody in leeds would have imagined that even 10 years ago .

leeds put lots of effort into the primary schools in particular as you need to catch the kids at a young age they also guide them towards local junior clubs and indeed some new clubs have started up in areas such as north leeds because of the work been done in the schools in the area and leeds people will tell you north leeds was never a hotbed of junior rugby league in the past.

ah a sunday night in front of the telly watching old rugby league games.
does life get any better .

Thanks for that link. I've made contact and hope soon to be enlightened!

that link only seems to show schools playing in the champions schools comp but there are other who have not entered it but do play the game also of course it only shows secondary schools not primary schools

ah a sunday night in front of the telly watching old rugby league games.
does life get any better .

All I can say is that since 2008 there are more schools playing competitively in Derbyshire than there have ever been. It's going to be tough after the cuts but we hope, as a club, to keep the flag flying in the schools with or without a CRLC in place.

Same in Bury. A Bury school won through to qualify for Champion Schools last year; off back of that, we'll run U16 side next year. Cuts will hit, gotta work out a back up plan but we'll be trying...

indeed most schools in leeds do play rugby league as both leeds and hunslet put a tremendus amount of time and effort going into schools coaching and giving lifestyle advise . even leeds grammar school noe play league and nobody in leeds would have imagined that even 10 years ago .

leeds put lots of effort into the primary schools in particular as you need to catch the kids at a young age they also guide them towards local junior clubs and indeed some new clubs have started up in areas such as north leeds because of the work been done in the schools in the area and leeds people will tell you north leeds was never a hotbed of junior rugby league in the past.

That's great and just the kind of thing I was hoping to hear. Are there schools that still won't have anything to do with rugby league? There has never been a better time for the Leeds club to do all that it can to encourage every school in the area to give the game a chance.

How about schools around Wakefield? The Grammar school is regularly featured in the Daily Mail for its rugby union exploits - is rugby league part of the curriculum?

that link only seems to show schools playing in the champions schools comp but there are other who have not entered it but do play the game also of course it only shows secondary schools not primary schools

I've e-mailed one of the contacts listed for the latest number of schools that play "competitive rugby league" - I want to see just how big or small the gap is by comparison with the 1500 English state schools Will Greenwood contends play "competitive rugby union."

I went to the secondary school in West Cumbria during the late seventies/early eighties and despite 5 years of asking never once got to play RL for the school, though there were plenty of RU fixtures. Thank god for the local Cumberland League junior set up.

I am glad to report the 3 Copeland schools now enter teams in the schools competition on a regular basis.

I can concur with that post.Only union was allowed at secondary school (my years were 1975 - 80) despite RL being the dominant football code.PE teacher played for Workington RU and hated the words Rugby League being spoken.Netherhall School from fly the National Schools competition flag from Allerdale and have been to a couple of semi finals.

I can concur with that post.Only union was allowed at secondary school (my years were 1975 - 80) despite RL being the dominant football code.PE teacher played for Workington RU and hated the words Rugby League being spoken.Netherhall School from fly the National Schools competition flag from Allerdale and have been to a couple of semi finals.

Teachers like that with an agenda to promote RU were commonplace. It's a lack of awareness of the needs of their students and the importance of RL to their local communities by the head teachers and the local education authorities and their failure to take any action to impose these community values on teachers like that that perpetuated this Rugby apartheid for so long. Thank goodness it's slowly receding and the peoples game is now being played at the peoples schools especially in Cumbria, a faithful and passionate RL area since the birth of the sport.

Broncos Champion Schools Competition http://www.londonbro...ion_schools.phpRL seems to be doing well in a 10 mile square in SW London/NW Surrey. I'm guessing about 10-20 schools. All the secondary schools in Kingston-upon-Thames http://www.kingstonssp.co.uk/?_id=586 now play RL. There's also RL in Elmbridge (i.e. Weybridge), Richmond and Feltham. Thomas Knyvett in Ashford Middx has taken it up this year - it's the sister school to Howard of Effingham, who won at Wembley.

Teachers like that with an agenda to promote RU were commonplace. It's a lack of awareness of the needs of their students and the importance of RL to their local communities by the head teachers and the local education authorities and their failure to take any action to impose these community values on teachers like that that perpetuated this Rugby apartheid for so long. Thank goodness it's slowly receding and the peoples game is now being played at the peoples schools especially in Cumbria, a faithful and passionate RL area since the birth of the sport.

It was a bit more than promotion of RU actually, our head of PE would tell the pupils that they had to play for the school i.e. RU ahead of the local RL club and if the did not they would be banned from playing league, quoting some regulation that I don't remember anymore. I know ir's all lies now but at 11/12 its difficult tp believe a senior teacher would so blatently lie. Thankfully the RL club coach would always reassure that it didn't matter what anyone said he would still pick us if we wanted to play

Thanks for that link. I've made contact and hope soon to be enlightened!

to give an example of why those lists dont include everyone...

In Bury we've run a Yr 7, a Yr 8 a Yr 9, and a Yr 10 comp each year of last two. usually get 6(ish) schools in each with say 4 from Bury and a couple of guests.

Winners of this play off against winners of similar groups in Bolton and in Rochdale or other areas.

Winners of that then qualify to Champion Schools and hence...appear in the list. So, where you see Philips High here: http://www.therfl.co...der=Boys&id=421 they'd actually played a fair few matches to qualify. and in theory, all those knocked out in the preceding comps have been playing competitive RL.

locally, we've managed to get Philips and a couple of other schools playing each other home and away too. also had gilrs play and last year, Bury Grammer 6th form entered the national colleges cup - the first time that particular fee paying school had played RL.

im not wanting to put a downer on this as i think its a great achivment but do those figures stand for schools/teams playing in regular schools leagues or just the carnigie schools comp .fully understand that there has to be a starting point and leagues dont devlop overnight bu it would be interesting to know how far along they are

ah a sunday night in front of the telly watching old rugby league games.
does life get any better .

Broncos Champion Schools Competition http://www.londonbro...ion_schools.phpRL seems to be doing well in a 10 mile square in SW London/NW Surrey. I'm guessing about 10-20 schools. All the secondary schools in Kingston-upon-Thames http://www.kingstonssp.co.uk/?_id=586 now play RL. There's also RL in Elmbridge (i.e. Weybridge), Richmond and Feltham. Thomas Knyvett in Ashford Middx has taken it up this year - it's the sister school to Howard of Effingham, who won at Wembly.

It's fantastic to read a sentence like "All the secondary schools in Kingston-upon-Thames now play RL."

My son's school (in Surrey) does teach RL, but it's predominately a Union school (actually it's first and foremost a soccer school). They don't have a RL team as far as I am aware, but you can see with a bit of a push it could easily grow.